Work Text:
You’ll have to forgive him if he doesn’t shed any tears by the graveside.
It’s cold and his downturned, bloodshot eyes have not closed for slumber in days. His coat blows along in the wind, like a waving white flag . Surrender. He has wished to surrender himself into the ground for years.
The casket is closed. He takes one last glance at the face of the dead man. Long may he rot in hell.
You’ll have to forgive his less-than-polite tone. It’s the murderer of his own father. Evil personified. Perfection, personified.
The casket is lowered. Not a single expense spared on it. Mahogany, polished to an obscene shine. An ostentatious burial for the gaudiest of them all. Old money. That they, the children, now bear the burden of inheriting.
She stands next to him. Her black coat and muffler around her neck. Her makeup is done up perfectly. She is cold as the ice and snow on the ground. Her eyes do not well up with tears either.
You’ll have to forgive them. Their mentor taught them to conceal all emotion. Feelings are weakness. And neither of them dared shed a tear in front of him.
A preacher reads words from a book neither one of them has read. It’s religion and meaning falling on deaf ears. He looks to his sister. There are no words to say and searching for the “right” ones is meaningless. Grace and delicacy do not apply to the words “your father killed mine.”
The closing words are delivered. He breathes a sigh of relief. At long last the nightmare is over. For him, anyway.
You’ll have to forgive her. Her father is dead. And her life has begun to crumble around her. But still, she is solid. Resolute. She does not look at the upturned earth where her father lies. She gazes into the distance. Seeing something far beyond herself.
He wants to take his sister’s hand. To apologize. His innocence, proving her father’s guilt. It was his fault. He begins to reach, to close the insurmountable chasm that is the 2-foot space between them. But she pulls away. She always pulls away.
She cannot look at his face. Not right now. Not when every last ounce of her energy is consumed by putting on a brave face herself. If she looks into his eyes she will break. There is no guilt like the words forcing themselves down her throat. She could choke on the sound. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry my father killed yours.”
A crowd of people surround them. And that’s when he is hurled back to reality. There were people who knew the dead man. Who respected him. Just as he respected him. They offer pithy condolences and half-hearted Sorry for your loss-es.
You’ll have to forgive him. He hasn’t decided if he’d consider this a loss yet.
The crowd flocks to his sister. They all wear black. Like a writhing void of voices accompanied by their pathetic attempts to comfort her. He knows their words will mean nothing.
They meant nothing to him after all. A boy of 10 years old, at his father’s funeral. A peasant’s burial, compared to this one. Put on by kind-hearted detectives and family friends. All while he, the only son, fell into oblivion.
He wished he had died in the elevator too, many times since then.
Finally, the inevitable thinning of the crowd leaves the two of them standing by the graveside alone.
Brother and sister.
In the end, he supposed they were both victims.
She turns away, walks silently away to her car. He follows her footsteps in the snow. “Franziska… Franziska!” He calls her name. His tongue burns like he has just summoned Beelzebub itself from hell.
She doesn’t answer to his pleas.
“Franziska!”
“What?!” The iceberg cracks. For a fraction of a second he sees the pain he expects in her eyes. It vanishes like a candle flame, snuffed the second she realizes her mistake.
“Please, I want to talk to you.” he reaches out. He will jump the chasm to fix this if he must. It’s his fault after all.
“I do not wish to speak to you, Miles Edgeworth.” She snarls on his last name, emphasizing the distance all the more
He realizes then. It's over. They occupy two different sides of the globe. His world-and hers. Will never be compatible again.
She gets in the car and drives away.
You’ll have to forgive him for wanting to die all over again. Everything he ever thought he knew-has been shattered around him.